BBG Members...Rank Your Favorite Species

[Jim Gronaw]

After enjoying Tony's discussion Bluegills or Bust, I thought it might be nice to see what everybody else fishes for. Indeed, our site is based on the greatest panfish and gamefish out there...the bluegill. But certainly we enjoy a variety of species. Cross-over tactics and similar applications can help us catch multiple species, and the info on BBG is top-drawer, all the way!

Here is my favorite, or 'top five' to pursue and catch...

#1 Bluegill, seeds, redears and hybrids. I like fish for these more than 60% of the time out on the water. Action, beauty, and tablefare...perfect!

#2 Crappies...another panfish heavy...great to eat, and I love the fast action at many waters.

#3 Hickory and American Shad...a 2-pound hickory will tow a five-pound largemouth around all day, period. American shad are just unbelievable.

#4 Carp...I gained a lot of respect for these giants from the Carp Mafia guys..they are just so big! Surprisingly challenging.

#5 Channel and Blue Catfish...For their size, channels fight much harder than blues and taste great. But a 58 lb blue is my biggest freshwater fish ever.

Strangely absent from the short-list are such heavies as largemouth and smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, walleye and stripers, although I will get on a kick for these guys if there is a hot bite somewhere close to me.

I guess, to me, my favorite fish is the very next one I catch!

[Adam Rink]

Like others have said, I like targeting a variety of species throughout the year, but if I had to make an order on what I usually target and enjoy the most it would be as follows:

1. Bluegill, Pumpkinseeds, Redears, and Hybrids: I love going somewhere with my buddies that primarily bass fish so that I can pretty much get all the panfish action to myself. If the Bluegill aren't biting, or I've caught enough to call it a good day...

2. Largemouth Bass: I do still do love bass fishing, though not nearly as much as bluegill fishing.

3. Yellow Perch: I grew up about 5 minutes from Lake Erie, but since we only have a small 14' aluminum boat, it has to be a nice calm S/SE breeze to take it out to the lake, but when you get in a good  school and the fish hit once your rig gets to the bottom and you start pulling up double headers, it ranks pretty high on my list of favorite fish to target.

4. Channel Catfish: Relaxing on a hot summer night catching these tough fish will always be something I'll do. 

Most of the other fish I catch usually come as a surprise catch, and those are usually welcome too.

[Slip Sinker]

i guess this would be my shortlist

1. Smallmouth Bass

2. Largemouth Bass

3. Bluegill - Sunfish

4. Crappie

5. Carp

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

   1.     Big Black Cabover Bluegill

   2.     Fat Orange Belly  Bluegill

   3      Thick Fillet Warmouth

   4      Line stretching Red Ears with Attitude

   5      Smallmouth Family,   (  Tiger Bass, Red Eyes Bass, Spotted Bass, Kentucky Bass )

   6      Bonus :   Flathead Catfish , because they taste so good !

          

           LOFR Remember this one, Sorry about the recycled photo but I liked this one, and that quill is 8 1/2 inches long.

[Slip Sinker]

carp one of my favorites... my dad used to call them "poor mans salmon" lol

[Dan Bippus]

#1- Bowfin-  the explosion! 

#2- Carp - many  fond  memories...

#3- Shellcracker-

#4- Gill

#5- Fl. Bass

 

[Charlie Cummins]

1. Mayan cichlids (called atomic sunfish; same size as blugills but 3 times the fight and since they're invasive in Florida no catch and release on them!)
2. Bluegills
3. Jaguar guapote (cousin of 1 above and they look like a black crappie with fangs; also invasive so no they go to the frying pan as well)
4. Largemouth bass
5. Peacock bass (actually cichlids as well but they get up to 10 lbs in Florida)

[John Cachel]

1. Giant bluegills! NO small!

2. Muskie

3. Giant Largemouth Bass

4. Trophy panfish (giant crappie, monster yellow perch, etc)

5. Large Carp over 25 lbs!

6. Large walleye

7. Gar! Fun to catch them during hot weather early afternoon!

8. Ice fishing for big panfish

[Vince Fusco]

Here are my top 5 favorites. 

  1. Gills... (hybrids, redbreast, and shellcrackers, these are also my number one favorite fish to eat.) 

  2. Crappies

  3. Yellow Perch

  4. Catfish

  5. Bass... (especially Spotted Bass) 

  I really enjoy catching any fish that is willing to take my offering though. It was really hard to limit my favorites to only five. Fish two and three on my list could easily switch places. I really like catching Yellow Perch, but Crappie fishing spots are closer to where I live, so I find myself fishing for them more often. Interesting enough though, the very first fish I ever caught was a small largemouth bass on a cane pole when I was 4 years old. When I caught my first gill, the fire inside me was lit, and there has been no looking back. 

[James Feasel]

smallmouth bass tops my catch and release list

#2 would be wipers---also C&R

#3 musky----always C&R

#4 Indiana steelhead and Washington state salmon-----keep or release as regulations allow

#5 bluegill and all the other panfish harvested selectively

#6 everything else as they are all good

[Mic]

If I'm taking my mother fishing, it's always her favorites...bluegill or shellcrackers.

When my daughter and her husband come visit from South Carolina and fish, it's always her favorite...catfish.

When my son goes, it's his favorite...bass.

If I fish alone, it's a toss up between bream and crappie...but I love 'em all!

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

If it swims its worth catching.... :)

[John Sheehan]

I've been thinking and thinking about this and can't rate my favs in order with satisfaction . Now that the Crappie in my lake, I usually fish, are getting bigger and thicker maybe they get the #1 nod. But Pumpkinseeds /Bluegills/ BG/PS and Redears on a Flyrod can be the  #1 favs  when that's happening .Yellow Perch are sometimes all I catch and deserve the #1 honor for saving the day . I feel like Mike to a great degree except sometimes I am species specific and like 'calling my shot' ,and catching exactly what I'm after . I agree with Mike the next fish that's on my line is my temporary favorite .Guess I'm fickled!